Earnest
Responsible for the development and delivery of media communications, Minerva played a key role in the successful dissemination of the findings of EARNEST, the Early Nutrition Programming Project. Significant international media coverage was secured including in New Scientist, The Economist and the New York Times.
EARNEST, an FP6-funded Early Nutrition Programming project, researched the concept that differences in nutritional experience at critical periods in early life, both pre- and post-natally, can programme a person’s development, metabolism and health for the future. This has been well-established in animal studies and there is a large amount of data from retrospective observational studies in people that suggests a similar effect is seen in humans.
The implications of early nutrition programming are huge: differences in risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity; in immune function and allergy risk; in bone health; and in cognitive, neuro-motor and behavioural outcomes, have all been seen in children. The potential for improving the health of future generations is enormous.
The project also addressed other areas where not enough is known about early nutrition programming to enable sensible policies to be formulated. It gave an insight into when the critical periods are, how the effects are mediated and whether or not they can be reversed.
